“AUSTERITY is over” was the bold claim by Prime Minister Theresa May – but can a decade of spending cuts really be over with a few short words? Reporter MARY NAYLOR looks into the effect of austerity on Bolton and whether it has really ended.

FOR 10 years the headlines have been filled with spending cuts, slashed public services and food banks. But the Prime Minister says the “hard work has paid off” and promised “support for public services will go up”.

With the budget right around the corner, councils everywhere are hoping there will be evidence to back up the PM’s statement at the end of the Conservative party conference.

However, there is not much optimism. This week all the Labour councils handed a petition to Number 10 pleading to stop the next round of cuts.

AUSTERITY: Is it over? What Bolton's leaders say

Strong opinions were raised at the most recent council meeting when Cllr Nick Peel, Labour, called out the Prime Minister as an “outrageous liar”.

Cllr Peel said: “‘Austerity is over!’ I’d like to know how the Prime Minister can make such an unbelievable claim.

“How can the treasury secretary Liz Truss outrageously lie to the country and state, and I quote, ‘We are not making any cuts to local authorities’? I’m sure our borough treasurer is going to be whoop-a-hoop on this.

“How are these statements not lies? Let’s call them out for what they are, they are liars, and they are outrageous liars!”

The Bolton News:

Cllr Nick Peel

Cllr Peel was speaking at the most recent Bolton Council meeting in which councillors battled over highways spending. Cllr Peel revealed that in 2010/11 the council had a £6.8 million budget for repairing the town’s highways and pavements but now that pot sits at £3.4 million for 2018/19 with about a third of the money coming from the council. Cllr Peel said: “If you go back pre-austerity that wasn’t the case. We rely heavily on government grants for such an expensive area.”

A study published on October 9 by the University of Cambridge revealed Bolton Council’s spending had dropped by 31 per cent from 2009/10 to 2016/17. The regularly cited figure by former council leader Cliff Morris was an eye-watering cut of £150 million to the council’s budget by 2020 which has important responsibilities including roads, waste, libraries, social care and children’s services.

The Cambridge study highlighted the disparity with which austerity cuts had been meted out across Britain, with drastically fewer cuts in Scotland and Wales and the most deprived areas, like Bolton, being hit harder than many affluent areas. Bolton has had the 41st most spending cuts out of 152 English councils. Councils in the bottom 10 for spending cuts include leafy Surrey and Bracknell Forest in Berkshire.

Geographer Dr Mia Gray, who conducted the research said: “The idea that austerity has hit all areas equally is nonsense.”

She added: “Wealthier areas can generate revenues from business tax, while others sell off buildings such as former back offices to plug gaping holes in council budgets.

“The councils in greatest need have the weakest local economies. Many areas with populations that are ageing or struggling to find employment have very little in the way of a public safety net.”

Cuts have affected all areas of public service, not just the council’s.

Bolton’s police force has seen its staff cut by 25 per cent and the Greater Manchester Police force as a whole has lost 2,000 officers and a further 1,000 staff since 2010. The effect of these cuts can be felt by the public who are the victims of crime but find police unable to investigate.

GMP has gone on record to say it prioritises crimes based on how easy to solve they will be and said cuts to the service have affected this.

The Bolton News:

Stuart Ellison

When he spoke to The Bolton News, Stuart Ellison, chief superintendent for Wigan, Bolton and Bury, said: “The Chief Constable has been making a lot of noise recently about the impact of the cuts on GMP and in Bolton we have lost more than 22 per cent of the budget in the last eight years.”

Figures released in March last year showed every school in the borough by 2019/20 will see its per-pupil funding decrease between two per cent and 19 per cent compared to 2013/14.

The Bolton News:

Phil Hart

Phil Hart, chairman of Bolton Learning Alliance said: “We are aware of schools schools are having to make an eight per cent saving since 2010 in real terms.

“That’s a result of unfunded pay awards, national insurance increases and pension contributions. It means school budgets are incredibly tight. 76 to 86 per cent is on staffing, that has a potential to impact on staffing.

“Across schools the board schools are having to cut back — fewer TAs in our schools at a time and a risk group sizes may increase.”